Ruined: The bride's big day was let down by stitching

A bride is suing a designer after her £2,000 wedding dress came apart on her big day, leaving her semi-naked at the altar.

The 30-year-old woman, who cannot be named due to Italian privacy laws, claims her big day was ruined by the poor stitching, which left her backside on display.

According to the writ, the bride was left in tears while friends and relatives either giggled or gawped while the priest was left not knowing where to look.

The Carry On-style incident happened at Chiavari on the Italian Riviera, close to where Wayne Rooney tied the knot last month with Coleen McLoughlin - who wore a £200,000 Marchesa gown.

Details of the writ emerged after an initial hearing at the civil court in nearby Genoa chaired by judge Pasqual Grasso.

The woman is claiming damages of £20,000 from the designer, who was not named but is based at Rapallo, 20 miles from Chiavari.

Yesterday, her lawyer Alberto Figone said: 'This was supposed to be the biggest day of my client’s life but it turned out to be the worst, her wedding was ruined.

‘She was left extremely embarrassed because the stitching of her dress came apart at the altar, slid down and revealed her bottom to the whole congregation.

‘The priest concluded the ceremony and the couple were married - but she was not able to take any proper photographs of the ceremony.

‘As a result, she has decided to sue the shop in Rapallo that made the dress for moral damages as well as financial damages and the request is 23,000 euros.’

The incident happened in 2006 but has only just come to court.

The woman has since separated from her husband.